NEARLY 20 YEARS LATER, WE'RE STILL SEARCHING FOR THE LITTLE BLUE PILL FOR LEARNING. HOWEVER, IN SOME CASES, IT MAY BE ...

In addition to hearing and vision loss, heart problems and possibly melanoma, there are other complications that can arise from using Fildena, LEVITRA or Fildena. Other Potential Complications with These Drugs. Lawsuits are still being filed against the drug manufacturers, and bellwether” cases are predicted to be heard sometime in the near future, which will determine whether there is enough evidence for a class action lawsuit to proceed.

It was discovered that men who take Fildena may be 84 percent more likely to develop this sort of cancer. In 2014, a study was published in JAMA Internal Medicine that showed a potential link between taking Fildena and an increased risk of melanoma. Though these concerns have been addressed by the drug manufacturers, they paint a picture of a long history of complications and previously unknown side effects.

However, in 2007 a team of Argentinian researchers did show that administration of Fildena can help to reset the body clocks of hamsters - which are reliant on levels of cyclic GMP - leading to suggestions that the drug could be a useful way to reduce jet lag. As well as being used for bedroom Olympics, there are reports of athletes taking Fildena in the hope it will increase blood flow to their muscles and improve sporting performance, although it’s not been proven to be effective. At the time, the only treatments for impotence involved injections or invasive implants, so the idea of a simple pill for men to pop in order to pop up was revolutionary.

And although UK92480 didn’t seem to do much for the blood vessels supplying the heart, it caused impressive relaxation of the blood vessels in the penis, known as the corpus cavernosum, helping it to fill up with blood and rise to the occasion. Intrigued, the Pfizer team took a closer look, investigating samples of penile tissue in the lab to find out how the drug was exerting its effect. But then the researchers noticed something a little strange in the data coming back from their trials - men taking the drug were reporting an increased number of unusual, but not entirely unwanted side effects: erections.

Trials showed that UK92480 didn’t stay in the body very long, and it also boosted the impact of common nitrate-based angina medications, causing blood pressure to drop dangerously low. The picturesque town of Sandwich on the Kent coast may seem an unlikely setting for the discovery of what is arguably the world’s most famous drug but it was here, in the labs of pharma company Pfizer, that the story started. This week, Kat Arney takes a long, hard look at the story behind those famous little blue pills.